Look, I can't use my Zune without a Windows machine and the Zune software. So, two out of three of the components are PC related. If we're talking about moving files from the machine to the device, it involves all three. Saying my question is not computer related is just a joke. Seriously? Really? Not computer related? I wish it was; it would probably be much easier to deal with, as I wouldn't be stuck trying to get sorting between disk, software and player correct.

If the question isn't hardware related with zunes then the question is computer related. Official ruling, please.

I have clarified the question on SU. Or should I just abandon it and try again with a new, less ranty, more explanatory question?

This question came from our discussion, support, and feature requests site for meta-discussion of the Stack Exchange family of Q&A websites.

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For the record. I am no longer responding to why was my question closed questions on Meta when the Super User FAQ clearly defines these not to be allowed. Should Jeff decide to change his mind regarding allowing these questions, then they will be re-opened. Until then, I will continue to close question if they are flagged as such.
– DiagoMar 14 '10 at 16:32

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To extend on Diago's comment a bit: I guess nobody is voting to close a question because that specific question is polluting SU. However, the more of that kind of questions have been asked, the more it will attract folks from search engines, which will result in yet more questions like that. Hence, to enforce whatever policy, sometimes questions will be closed that many of us wouldn't mind seeing on SU. C'est la vie.
– ArjanMar 14 '10 at 16:57

@Will - you'll get better response from the trilogy, regardless of the relevance of your question, if you just calm down. Does your original (pre-edit) post on SU reflect your actual mental state? If you said that to me face-to-face, frankly, I'd be concerned for you.
– Michael PetrottaMar 14 '10 at 19:27

@Diago, in looking at the answers to this question, isn't it sad the main thing the users have to do on SuperUser is to "sell" the moderator that their question is computer related?
– Lance RobertsMar 14 '10 at 21:22

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@Lance. There is a difference between an unclear FAQ, and people complaining and moaning because their question is closed because their device/machine/OS/application is running on a computer and therefore valid etc. I have to date seen the most incredible justifications, and now just ignore rants. I honestly don't have the time or energy nor have the dev team to maintain a detailed list of what is not allowed. However anyone that is not happy with the FAQ, can start a question here, make a detailed list, and I will happily tag it FAQ. As long as it remains their job to maintain.
– DiagoMar 14 '10 at 21:24

@Lance. The moderators. I am not the only person that can re-open questions. I am also not the only moderator. I have often said I am going to be less active, and to be honest, the current rate at which people jump on my back and on meta whenever a question is closed, my motivation to actually go through the lists, review and close, is becoming less and less. There seems to be a believe that Super User does not require moderation. Would be interesting to see what happens should the diamond moderators stop intervening completely and leave the site to itself for a while.
– DiagoMar 14 '10 at 21:26

This just smells of creating ever more fragmented silos of device/technology specific Q&A. I am a developer and a "super user" of a bunch of various hand held and ancilliary technologies all loosely integrated, why SU can't accommodate these is beyond me. I don't want to have to hit multiple SE sites for each technology, build some rep (again) to be able to participate e.g. leave comments. Also do the mods have the qualifications/expertise with a specific tech. to know whether this is a connectivity/integration issue without the OP having to SPELL IT OUT for them in the question.
– KevMar 14 '10 at 22:25

Sorry about the CAPS in that last comment, they were there for emphasis, not to shout at the diamond mods. So...what about my NetGear ReadyNAS? Can I ask questions about that? it's on my LAN but not 'directly' connected to my PC. It's technically a computer as well (it runs Linux). Or do I need to find yet another SE site to ask a question about that (the NetGear forums haven't helped in the past)? Whilst I agree with disallowing games or mobile phone specific 'end-user'/'gamer' questions, I think that banning productivity related "super-user" questions is pretty short sighted.
– KevMar 14 '10 at 22:32

Will shouldn't have been made to clarify his question any more than he did. Anyone with an ounce of Zune experience would have known this may have been a sync issue. The closers and mods need to make informed decisions before closing questions such as this by a) leaving it alone because you have no idea or b) googling around to see what's involved in hooking up your Zune to a PC and sync'ing. Much in the same way I mind my own business about dev questions on SO that I have no clue about.
– KevMar 14 '10 at 22:36

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@Kev: Will didn't clarify his question. period. he posted a rant, sprinkled with vague problem details, which is why it got closed in the first place. (closing questions about how to configure mp3 players or cellphones is standard practice, of which you are surely aware.) I edited out that rant and attempted to leave behind a useful question.
– quack quixoteMar 15 '10 at 8:32

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Yes, I voted to close the original question. I now believe I was mistaken. It happens. There is a clear path forward: accept that it was mistakenly closed, and convince the community that it is not "just a Zune question" so it can be reopened. Or forget about it and move on.
– quack quixoteMar 15 '10 at 8:32

@~quack - looked pretty obvious to me even in it's original form. Didn't seem like that much of a rant...but then as usual the "community" knows better.
– KevMar 15 '10 at 12:06

I don't care what anyone says, I just follow our great leader @Diago! Why are they always picking on him alone?
– Ivo FlipseMar 15 '10 at 20:34

If there was a fight between Diago and RichB I'd pick Rich.
– WillMar 16 '10 at 18:29

2 Answers
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Will, the FAQ includes the following as one of the things SU is not about:

electronic devices or media players, except insofar as they interface with your computer

Your question is about things that take place entirely on your Zune.

Now, if you were asking about how to use the Zune desktop application to change the sort order of your podcasts, then, to me, that would be a different issue.

Thanks to ~quack, but I missed the fact that this is happening during a sync. A sync is something between the computer and the device, and the desktop software on the computer controls it. This suggests the sort order mush be determined by the desktop, so this sounds like it should be ok on Zune.

I would suggest rewording the question to make it clear that you want to change the sort order in the desktop application in order to change the order on the device.

I'm having trouble deciding about the question in question. When I originally read it, it seemed to be asking how to change the sort order on the device, but it was very rant-ish and I didn't read very closely.

But when I read it again, this phrase caught my attention:

As items are added to the sync list they end up sorted in some weird manner [...]

That sounds like a problem occurring during the sync, which is explicitly allowed by the SU FAQ.

My knee-jerk response, as someone who will never own a Zune and doesn't know exactly how they work, is that the podcast sorting is possibly dependent on the files' metadata (tags). This means fixing them depends on a) a knowledge of what tags the device looks for, and b) software on a computer to correct the tags.

At this point, you, Will, need to convince us (and especially the mods) that the question is related more to the files and the computer than the Zune. If you can't do that, the question in question is not likely to be reopened. I've tried to get you onto a better footing -- by editing your question to get rid of the rant, and to bring the sync issue front-and-center -- but the rest is up to you.